


One (1) Cranky Boy

by firecracker189



Series: Link But Smaller [8]
Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Gen, Non-Sexual Age Play, big!rhett, caregiver!rhett, little!link, nsap
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-10-09 19:52:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17413223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firecracker189/pseuds/firecracker189
Summary: A cranky day at the office for poor Link. Lucky for him, Link's got Rhett to help him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on tumblr for prompts or to discuss works: firecrackerwrites.tumblr.com

Link had been a complete and utter disaster all week long. Standoffish, snapping at crew members, snapping at Rhett, and clumsier than he’d been in a good while due to his fits of temper. Rhett was at his wit’s end. He was so ready to have some time with Link to get him to age down and unwind that he was projecting all his pent up caregiver energy onto the poor crew. So far he’d warned Stevie that the coffee he’d brought her was hot, told Chase not to run with the darts for the international food segment (they were  _ sharp _ , someone could lose an eye!), and gotten weird looks from Jordan and Jen when he’d spontaneously handed out napkins during lunch. But he’d been ignoring Link. It hurt too bad to try and help him when he got like this, so Rhett had to keep his chin up and keep moving. Even when, just during one day, Link had managed to: shut his finger in the desk drawer, trip over his untied shoelace and fall on his butt, burn his mouth on hot coffee, and spill cereal down his shirt. Rhett was going crazy. His entire body was tense, skin thrumming with the need to just take care of someone, but what did you do when your little one didn’t want your help? 

Rhett had further embarrassed himself when Josh dropped a ceramic bowl in the kitchen, shattering it into several sharp pieces. He’d stood up and rushed over to where Josh was standing, taking his hands and inspecting them for injury. Rhett had felt Link’s eyes on the back of his neck the entire time he helped Josh pry the tiny piece of glass from his palm. Stevie and Jordan had swept up the glass quickly while Rhett got a bandage around Josh’s hand.

“Thanks man.” Josh murmured softly. 

Rhett clapped him on the back. “Sure thing. Can’t afford any employee maulings,” Rhett joked, wandering off towards the set with his mug of tea.

He’d drifted a little all morning, having Stevie repeat her hints a few times before he was ready to make his guesses for the segment, and even winning the dart game didn’t hold any satisfaction for him. It mostly just meant he had to handle a Big Link tantrum. Rhett  _ hated _ those. They were worse somehow than Little Link flopping down in the floor and screaming till he cried himself out. Because a Big Link was  _ mouthy _ and  _ angry _ and  _ physical _ . After enduring Link stomping his feet and screaming for a few minutes before they cut, Rhett got up and headed right for the office, hoping that Link would follow him. He had to put a stop to the attitude, to get Link to stop being so hard to handle somehow. Rhett knew that all the events of the day, while serving to rile Link up more, probably had him wanting Rhett to check up on him.

Sure enough, as soon as he’d gotten his mic off and sat down, Link was there, door slamming behind him as he loomed angrily over Rhett, chest heaving. “What the hell, man?” Link snarled. His lip was curled back over his teeth, shoulders back and hair on end from where he’d run his fingers through it during his little freak out.

Rhett took a deep breath and stared up at Link. “You better watch the way you speak to me, man.” Rhett’s eyes carried warning. 

“Don’t-- don’t freaking say that to me, man!” Link blustered, face turning red. “You been ignoring me all freaking day, not even caring when I got hurt! I can’t freaking believe you, man! Do you really not care about me?” 

Rhett stood up and Link pushed him back down angrily, hands to his shoulders.

“Don’t even talk to me,” Link’s eyes blazed with hurt concealed behind layers of anger and Rhett knew he was asking for help by acting out. “You don’t care. Stop pretending you do.” 

“Hey!” Rhett struggled to his feet, raising up to his full height and using it to his advantage as he stood over Link. He gripped Link’s collar in one hand. “That is  _ enough. _ ” Rhett dragged Link to the sofa and pushed him down. “You sit down. And don’t you  _ ever  _ insinuate I don’t care again. You’re  _ way _ off base here, man. You need to get yourself under control. You have to  _ tell _ me when you need my help, I can’t just magically know when you’re like this. You’re so damn repressed that I can’t tell when you want my help.  _ I’m _ so damn repressed, I’m trying to take care of everyone that vaguely  _ needs _ my help!” Rhett fumed, feeling only a little bad as Link cowered back beneath his anger. Rhett blew out a sigh and forced himself to tone it down. Fighting anger with anger would likely make Link’s reactions worse. He ducked his head and took a couple breaths before looking Link in the eyes once more. “Look, man. We can’t keep doing this. I oughta whoop you for how you behaved today.” Rhett pointed at Link, letting out a deep breath as he shook his head. “As it is I have half a mind to leave you in the freaking corner for a while.”

Link’s defiant eyes widened a little. “Get up.” Rhett had reached the end of his tolerance levels. Link stood slowly. 

“Rhett--”

“Save it. Get over there. I’m going to get a drink, you better not have moved when I get back.” 

Link drifted to the corner and stood there awkwardly, hands at his sides. “Rhett--” he tried again, but Rhett held up a hand. 

“No. You stand there. Thirty minutes. I’m putting a timer on my phone. If I come back from the kitchen and you’ve moved or if you talk at all, that timer re-starts.” Rhett said firmly, heading for the door. He could feel Link’s temper fuming as he shut the door behind him. He took his sweet time making himself a cup of tea, chatting softly with a few of the crew before checking Link’s timer and heading back to the office. 

“Alright, Link. Thirteen minutes down,” Rhett sidled through the door and then pushed it closed, locking it behind him. 

Link was standing stiffly, craning his neck to stare at Rhett. “Rhett--” 

“And that’s back to the start,” Rhett said airily, sitting down at his desk and restarting the timer. 

“Aw, c’mon, man!” 

“Do you wanna be there all day?” Rhett asked him plainly, giving a firm stare. “It’s back to start again, Link.” 

Link ducked his head a little. “No, Rhett,” he deflated a little. “Don’t want to be here all day.” 

Rhett took a drink and started the timer again. “Then stay quiet until this goes off.” He set the mug down and made a little twirling motion with his finger. “Turn around.” 

Rhett flipped idly through a magazine, listening to Link fidget as he stood in the corner. He’d heave a sigh or shift his weight or tap his palms against his thighs. “You better shape up, man,” Rhett warned, sensing that Link was about to speak up again. “Don’t you do it. Don’t make me do it again--”

“No!” Link turned and stomped his foot, face flushing. “No, you’re not starting it over again!” 

“Yes, I am,” Rhett said softly. “You broke the rules. You talked. On it goes again.” 

“Rhett!” Link howled, and Rhett stood up, moving into his personal space. 

“You look at this. This is back at thirty minutes,” Rhett took Link’s jaw in his hand. “Your mouth opens again, I start it back again. That’s how it goes.” 

Link stomped his foot again and Rhett turned his jaw loose. “You stay quiet, Link.” he warned, moving to the chairs so he’d be closer to the corner. “You’re being punished. It’s not supposed to be easy.” He noted, settling into the chair comfortably. 

Fifteen of the thirty minutes had elapsed before Link finally started losing his self control again, making little impatient noises and tossing glances over his shoulder.

“Nose forward,” Rhett murmured, not looking up from his game of Tetris. 

Link let out a muffled whine and Rhett finally looked up, shaking his head. “Now where’d you get that from?” he asked. “Don’t answer.” 

Link had seemingly produced his binky from nowhere, choosing to put it in is mouth instead of risking Rhett starting the timer all over again. Rhett didn’t mind that much, at least it kept him quiet. He went back to his game, idly taking his time and fitting the brightly colored pieces together, occasionally updating Link on how much time he had left. When the timer got down to five minutes, Rhett stood up and stretched, cataloguing Link’s current state. He’d calmed seriously, and he was sucking on the binky but that didn’t mean anything. It could have been more muscle memory than headspace. 

“Three minutes, bo,” Rhett spoke up, and Link gave another muffled groan. “Hang in there. You’re doing great, Link.” Rhett kept his eyes glued to the clock, and as soon as the timer went off he patted Link’s shoulder. “Time’s up.” He took Link’s hand. “Come here and sit with me for a minute.” Whatever Link’s headspace, Rhett wanted to make sure to comfort him after a punishment. Link went willingly, sinking down beside him on the sofa. “You good?” he rubbed Link’s arm. Link didn’t look like he was going to take out the binky, so Rhett opened his arm up. Link leaned into him softly. “We gotta talk about your temper, bud.”

“I don’t have a temper, man,” Link’s voice was soft and a bit subdued as he tugged the binky out of his mouth. 

“You threw a fit for twenty minutes three weeks ago ‘cause we didn’t have any apple juice.” Rhett draped his arm over Link and rubbed his shoulder softly. 

“It was a disaster,” Link was adamant. “I don’t have a temper problem, man.”

Link put the binky back in and they sat in silence for a few minutes. “ _ You _ needa time out.” Link mumbled around the silicone. 

“Oh,  _ I _ need a time out, huh?” Rhett was amused, smiling softly. He ran a hand through Link’s hair. “You need to age down, man. Lemme take care of you. You’re so cranky when you don’t get to have little time. You haven’t come to me for a while, is there something wrong?” 

Link sat up and threw a leg over Rhett’s lap and squirmed into it, wrapping his arms around Rhett’s neck. “Nothin’ wrong.” he assured, leaning into him. “You’re th’best big brudder,” Link’s words were slightly slurred as he rested firmly between headspaces. “S’just me. Can’t…” He made an exasperated noise around the binky. “Can’t stop thinkin’ about big things and grownup stuff.” He was clearly distressed, pressing his face into Rhett’s shirt till his glasses went askew.

“Well,” Rhett’s voice went deep in a way that meant that he was trying to soothe Link. He wrapped his arms firmly around Link and rubbed his back. “You oughta let me help you with that.” 

Rhett hugged him tight. “C’mon, bumblebee, lemme take care of you. Let Rhett take care of you.” He started rocking from side to side a little, running his hand through Link’s hair. “Just unwind a little before we have to leave.” Link whined, starting to cry fitfully as he held onto Rhett’s shirt. “There we go, here, hang on. Lemme take your glasses off. Here,” Rhett leaned forward and took off Link’s glasses and put them beside him on the sofa, letting Link curl sideways in his lap. “You just cry if you want to, little man. Yeah, Rhett’s here. You’re gonna be okay.”

It took several minutes before Link had cried himself out enough for Rhett to be able to interact with him again. Rhett used the sleeve of his sweatshirt and swiped at Link’s wet face, cooing at him softly. “Does that feel better?” Rhett watched Link suck at the binky desperately and rubbed at his back. “Yeah, I bet you feel better now, little brother. Sometimes you just get so many icky grownup feelings all bottled up that you just gotta cry, huh? Well you’re gonna feel so much better by the time you get home tonight. You and me are gonna cuddle for a while, and then you’re gonna go wash your face off and change into something more comfortable.” He felt Link’s hands fist into his shirt and he laughed softly. “Yeah. I’m not going anywhere. Not for a while at least.” Rhett leaned his head back against the sofa and just held onto Link quietly until he felt they were both ready to start moving again.

“Come on. Sit up for me. We gotta get you ready to be a big boy again, Link.”

Link let out a pitiful whine around the pacifier and Rhett resolved then and there that whatever else happened that weekend, he was stealing Link away for a night or even a few hours if he could. “I know, bud. I know. It’s rude and mean, isn’t it? But you gotta age up for me. We gotta at least have you big enough to get past the crew and answer some of their questions if anyone needs anything.” 

Link sat up, but he didn’t stay that way for long. Whining and squirming, he flopped out of Rhett’s lap and into the floor, laying facedown.

“Link--” Rhett sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. “Link.” he said firmly, wearily, watching Link squirm his way under the desk until just his feet stuck out. “Link, please tell me what’s wrong. Can you use your words for me?” 

“Nuuuuuh!” Link sounded like he was crying and Rhett pushed to his feet. 

“Alright. You lay there. I’m going back to work. You just lay there until you’re ready to stop pouting.” 

Rhett went back to his desk and started back on his editing and his emails, queuing up some Instagram posts for the Mythical Beasts. Occasionally Link would whine and squirm, but Rhett just let Link have his little tantrum of poutiness. It took him forty-five minutes to calm down, backing out of the desk with a bit of dust coating his face and tear tracks down his cheeks. Rhett pretended not to notice as Link pushed to his feet and shuffled towards him. He felt a tug at his sleeve and made a show of looking up and pretending surprise. Rhett pushed the chair back and swiveled a bit, looking at Link firmly.

“Hey there, bo,” he greeted. “You ready to use your big boy words now?”

Link looked down at his sneakers and nodded. 

“Tell me what you want,” Rhett hedged, knowing what Link was after. 

Link shifted, picked at his shirt, then looked up plaintively. “Hug, please?” 

“Sure thing, c’mere.” Rhett held his arms out and Link folded himself into his lap, chest to chest as he pressed his face into Rhett’s shoulder. “One good hug from your big brother and you’ll feel a thousand times better.” Rhett assured with all the bravado of a proud sibling. 

Eventually he got Link to let him go long enough to get a good look at him. “Let’s go wash your face, huh?” Link was pliant and soft, unspeaking as Rhett walked in front of him to the bathroom, only squirming lightly as Rhett wiped his face with a wet paper towel. “Good as new!” he sang, and Link gave him a subdued nod. 

“Nother hug,” Link requested, knowing he had to handle another few hours if not days like a grown-up.

“Yeah, little brother. I know.” Rhett hugged him loser and kissed his head. “We can have time soon. If I’m not there you can ask Christy for help later tonight, hmm?” 

Link nodded softly. 

“Promise me.” Rhett coaxed. 

“Mm, p’omise, bubba.” Link murmured fuzzily. 

“Good boy. Now be a big boy and go to the bathroom and wash your hands. I’ll wait outside.” 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link slips again when it's time for bed. Christy helps because she's awesome.

Link hadn’t felt right for the rest of the day. Everything felt wrong and forced somehow, especially when they met up to record the segment for Good Mythical More. He knew he was coming across as angry and forced, but he couldn’t help it. He didn’t even wait for Rhett to come check on him, he just grabbed his coat and left. The Uber drive home was quiet, but Link managed to stay on top of things as he greeted the kids. He signed homework folders, asked about lessons from the day and recounted obediently what he and Rhett had done that day to make the boys laugh. He did what he knew he had to do. He interacted and hugged his kids and told them to eat their veggies that their mom had worked so hard to make for them. Link was the dutiful father. He helped Christy with the dishes while the kids dispersed after dinner to take showers and clean up bedrooms and get themselves into bed at a decent hour. 

The moment that he had finished up putting things away in the kitchen, Link headed right for the bedroom and closed the door. He managed to get his teeth brushed and get changed into his pajamas, but by the time Christy came in and told him everyone was settled for the night, he was pretty sure he wasn’t okay anymore. She found him curled up on top of the covers with his arms around his knees, looking very much worse for the wear. He couldn’t help it, she just looked so soft in her robe and pajamas with that look on her face that said ‘I can make it all better if you’d let me’. Link raised his hands up plaintively, begging silently for cuddles as his chin began to quiver.

“Oh, honey,” Christy murmured, instantly coming over to the side of the bed and wrapping her arms around him. “You just had a hard day, huh?” She smoothed her hand through Link’s hair. 

Link whined softly, pressing his face into her stomach and clutching at her robe. 

“I know,” She crooned. “You just need a lot of cuddles, don’t you, baby boy?” 

“Notta baby,” he declared through his exhausted tears as he pulled away to stare up at her pitifully. 

“Of course you’re not, that was my mistake, wasn’t it?” Christy went right along with it, smiling softly at him and using the sleeve of her robe to wipe his face. “Now stop crying, sweet boy. Why don’t you get under the covers and we can cuddle for a little while before we go to sleep?” 

Link slipped down off the bed and stood there uncertainly, waiting for her to finish up folding down the covers before he let out a little whine. 

“What’s the matter, love?” Christy came back around and cupped his cheek softly. “Do you want your blanket? Or a binky?” 

“I want Rhett,” he admitted, voice small. 

“I know, honey. I know you do. But he’s at home and he can’t be here right now. You can text him if you want to, but you’ll have to make do with me for now.” 

Link flung his arms around her and buried his face in her shoulder. “Rhett,” he whined, dropping fast and starting to cry again. 

“I know. I know, you want Rhett, little boy. I know you do. Christy knows that.” She assured, petting his hair as he curled into her touch. “No tears, Link,” She murmured softly, dropping into her most soothing Mom Voice. “Please don’t cry, sweet boy. I love you. Did you know that I love you?” It was different dealing with Link than dealing with Jessie, because he was a lot younger and more dependent, but she loved it. She loved  _ him _ . “I love you so,  _ so _ , much, Link.” Christy murmured, hugging him tightly. She started humming quietly, rubbing his back to soothe him. They’d have to have a talk about what their dynamic was in all of this later on, all of them together. It was a bit confusing being that all four of them were married but not the primary caregiver of the little one in their relationship. She was Jessie’s Mommy, but Link’s….what exactly? 

Once the exhausted little boy tears had died down somewhat, she gently pulled away from him and pointed to the bed. “Come on,” she spoke softly. “In bed. I’ll grab your phone and we can text Rhett together, hmm?” She was pleased to see that at least Link had had the presence of mind before he dropped to at least put on his nighttime protection. The barest peek of plastic showed above his waistband as he slipped under the covers.

“Help?” 

“Help with what, sweet boy?” Christy asked as she took off her robe and climbed up beside him. She put his phone on her lap and set hers on the nightstand so she could text Jessie a goodnight later. 

“Help,” Link’s chin quivered and she had to lean over and kiss his cheek. 

“You want me to help take off your glasses?” She guessed, and he nodded pitifully, another whine issuing from his chest. “Okay, alright, you just calm down, precious. Christy’s here and everything’s gonna be okay.” She slid the glasses from his face and folded them neatly, laying them on her nightstand. “There we go. Now you just cuddle up and we can send Rhett a message.” 

Link melted into her side as she pulled up the covers over them, the only light now remaining coming from her bedside lamp. “Okay, smart boy. What do we want to say to Rhett, huh?” She scrolled through his phone till she found the messenger app they used to keep headspace things separated from things family and coworkers might see. Link stuck his thumb in his mouth and Christy set the phone aside. “Hang on,” She told him when he whimpered as she stood up. “I’m getting your binky for you,” Christy rooted around the chest at the end of the bed until she found a spare pacifier and Link’s blanket. “Here, honey.” Link latched onto the comfort objects desperately and it made her heart hurt a little to see his distress.

Once she’d settled back in with Link partially in her lap this time, one hand stroking through his hair, Christy sent Rhett a message.

 

**[Bumblebee]** Hey, it’s Christy. I’ve got a very little boy here who can’t stop thinking about you. 

**[Bubba]** He’s been unsettled all day, but I’m glad he asked you for help. 

**[Bumblebee]** He’s no trouble, Rhett. He just wanted to--

**[Bubba]** Christy? What’s wrong?

**[Bumblebee]** He’s asleep. He just fell asleep on my lap, nothing’s wrong. Here, look. I’ll send you a picture. 

**[Bubba]** Oh. My. God. Jessie’s over here melting at how cute he is. 

**[Bumblebee]** Well he  _ is _ pretty cute, I agree. I’ll tell him you said goodnight if he wakes up later. 

**[Bubba]** Good. Make sure he’s got a binky and his blanket. Jessie says to tell you goodnight and that she loves you. 

**[Bumblebee]** Tell her I love her too. Goodnight, Rhett. 

**[Bubba]** Night, Christy. Sweet dreams.


End file.
